1 Corinthians 6:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

NIV: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

NASB: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

CSB: Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

NLT: Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,

KJV: What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

NKJV: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

Paul is confronting the Christians at the church in Corinth about sexual immorality. Apparently, some argued that since our bodies will die and decay, it doesn't really matter what we do with them. It's only the spirit in us that matters, they might say. Likewise, they might argue that they were free to pursue whatever sexual expression they liked (1 Corinthians 6:12–13). Paul has rejected these false teachings.

The idea that our bodies don't matter is ultimately false. A Christian's body is where the Holy Spirit lives. In a sense, Paul elevates our bodies to the level of being temples, holy places, that house the Spirit of God. God gives His Spirit to every person who trusts in Christ for salvation (Ephesians 1:13–14). Mysteriously, we carry His Spirit in our bodies.

With that in mind, Paul now adds, they are not really our bodies, after all. He will write in the following verse that God purchased us. He paid for our redemption from sin with the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7). Christ bought our way out of the curse of living under the law of Moses by becoming a curse Himself (Galatians 3:13).

In that sense, we came to belong to God when we came to Him by faith in Jesus. That's why our bodies are not our own to do with as we please.

First Corinthians 6:12–20 describes Paul's objections to those in the Corinthian church who had a casual attitude about sexual immorality. Beyond formal, literal laws, Paul insists the standard for Christian behavior must be whether a practice is helpful or enslaving. Sex is more than a mere bodily function; God designed it to unite two people into one body in marriage. That union with another person drags Christ, to whom we are also united, into the union with us. Our bodies will be resurrected and are meant even now to bring glory to God.

First Corinthians 6 continues Paul's confrontations of the Corinthian Christians over issues in the church. Earlier passages discussed problems of division into factions, and tolerance of heinous sexual sin. Paul is also outraged that they would take one another to court in a lawsuit over minor issues. Instead of suing each other before unbelievers, they should settle trivial issues in the church. Second, Paul urges them to live up to their new identities in Christ instead of living down to the sexually immoral standards of the culture. This sets up discussions of marriage in chapter 7.

Paul confronts two major issues happening in the church at Corinth. First, he is outraged that one of them has brought a lawsuit against a brother in Christ over a minor dispute. It is absurd to think that Christians—those who will judge the world and angels—cannot even judge a small matter between themselves. Second, Paul warns his readers to run from sexual immorality. Sex creates a powerful bond intended only for marriage. Since our bodies belong to and are part of Christ, we have no right to bring Him into a one-body union with someone to whom we're not married.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.